'Wheel of Fortune' fans call out 'impossible' puzzle that cost a player $50,000: 'Who says that?'

Even though contestant Vicki Rowe took the loss gracefully, fans weren't happy with the unsual Bonus Round puzzle.

PUBLISHED JUL 19, 2025

Screenshot showing the puzzle and the player looking away from it (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" fans had a lot to say after a sweet high school English teacher missed out $50,000 due to an "impossible" Bonus Round puzzle. The contestant, Vicki Rowe, played beautifully throughout the show, lifted everyone's spirits with her cute antics, and made the host, Ryan Seacrest, laugh. However, the game ended on a sour note for her when she was faced with a tough puzzle, "Buzzing around," with only a handful of clues on the board. Even though she took the loss gracefully, fans weren't happy at all with the unusual phrase.

Screenshot showing the moment of loss (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

In the episode, Rowe—who lives in Pflugerville, Texas—played against Chris Moore from Lehigh Acres, Florida, and Mel Abrams from Marietta, Georgia. During the introductions, she told Seacrest that she has been an English and academic decathlon teacher at Taylor High School for over four decades. Rowe was off to a strong start by solving the first couple of puzzles, and her sweet personality led the host to call her “cute as a button.” As the audience laughed, he added, “Buttons are attractive. You’re very sweet. Thank you.”

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Apart from being charming, Rowe was incredibly skilled as well, quickly solving a couple more puzzles on the fly. Although she lost one of the prize puzzle and a few of the Toss Up puzzles, she made a strong comeback in the Express Round and won the show with a total of $17,500 in cash prizes and a luxurious trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Advancing to the Bonus Round, she chose the popular “What are you doing?” category for the final puzzle.

Screenshot showing Rowe alongside Seacrest at the wheel (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

After making Seacrest crack up at the wheel, Rowe was joined by her niece Addy, her nephew Rick, and his twin sister, Bobby, who cheered her on. After picking out her Golden Envelope, she was faced with a two-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, R, S, T, L, N, and E filled in, she chose C, K, P, and I as her additional letters. Unfortunately, her letter picks gave her just one more clue as the puzzle read: “_ _ _ _IN_ _R_ _N_.” With only a few letters on the board, the teacher looked stumped.

As Seacrest wished her good luck and started the ten-second timer, Rowe tried her best to solve the puzzle, yelling out guesses like, “Playing hooky." She eventually gave up and jokingly said, “Doing my best to win a lot of money.” When the clock ran out, the host revealed that the correct answer was "Buzzing around." Even Rowe seemed surprised by how unusual the puzzle was, and said, "Whoa!" to the reveal. To add to the heartbreak, Seacrest flipped open the Golden Envelope to reveal that she missed out on taking home an additional $50,000.

While the player took the loss in stride, viewers weren't happy. "These puzzles are getting impossible, dude," wrote @jonathanr520 in the comments of the show's YouTube clip. "Another near-impossible puzzle. Who says that, “hmm … I’m buzzing around”. You might get punched in the face for saying something so dumb," added another viewer, @yamanb9172.